Closing in on Cause...
I've learned quite a bit about the thyroid and adrenals through my own research, and I'm starting to see evidence that I have hypothyroidism, or some kind of thyroid problem.
Docs always use the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test to look for thyroid problems. Sometimes this test catches hypo-t, sometimes not; it's not reliable. What is more reliable, without going into the tech details, is to look at a hormone called T3 which the thyroid produces, in relation to another one it produces called Reverse T3. the ratio of "free" T3 to RT3 should be 20 or higher, say some. Mine is 17.6. The ratio of total T3 to RT3 should be 10 or higher - mine is 5.2.
According to an article titled “Reverse T3 is the best measurement of thyroid tissue levels” found in the 2005, volume 90 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, it states that “the T3/RT3 ratio is the most useful marker for tissue hypothyroidism and as a marker of diminished cellular functioning.”
Also possibly indicative of hypothyroidism is your temperature, which I've started taking several times a day, and I'm keeping a graph to show at my next doc visit. If your average daily temperature is consistently well below 98.6, that's a low metabolism and suggests an underactive thyroid. My last temp, taken at 10:23A, was 97.7, but time will tell.
Also if you're chronically low in magnesium, that can be a sign of hypothyroid. Mine was just below the "normal" range.
And then there are my throat symptoms, all of which are consistent with Hashimotos (where your auto-immune system is attacking your thyroid and chronically irritating it). Or at very least, thyroid inflammation.
This doc wants me to start taking T3, but my research shows that you need to find out if your adrenals are okay before starting any kind of thyroid treatment. I might have what they call "adrenal exhaustion". That needs a 24-hour saliva test to find out, in which your cortisol levels are taken at different times of the day -- not the standard blood test, which measures both free cortisol and bound cortisol.
Then, to see if Hashimotos is the problem, there are *2* antibody tests to take - the TPO and Tgab (my doc originally only did the TPO, which showed I did have slightly elevated antibodies, btw). And to make sure, there's the Fine Needle Aspiration test, which looks for "Hurthle" cells in the thyroid -- these indicate Hashimotos.
Finally, it's been said that a lot of thyroid problems come from Iodine deficiency. There's a test for that called the Iodine/Iodide Load Test, in which you basically take a lot of iodine, and if your body keeps a lot and gets rid of very little, that's indicates a deficiency.
I can have any of these tests done directly, without requiring a doctor, but they cost quite a bit. So I'm just letting my doc know in no uncertain terms that I will have these tests done, one way or another.
Docs always use the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test to look for thyroid problems. Sometimes this test catches hypo-t, sometimes not; it's not reliable. What is more reliable, without going into the tech details, is to look at a hormone called T3 which the thyroid produces, in relation to another one it produces called Reverse T3. the ratio of "free" T3 to RT3 should be 20 or higher, say some. Mine is 17.6. The ratio of total T3 to RT3 should be 10 or higher - mine is 5.2.
According to an article titled “Reverse T3 is the best measurement of thyroid tissue levels” found in the 2005, volume 90 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, it states that “the T3/RT3 ratio is the most useful marker for tissue hypothyroidism and as a marker of diminished cellular functioning.”
Also possibly indicative of hypothyroidism is your temperature, which I've started taking several times a day, and I'm keeping a graph to show at my next doc visit. If your average daily temperature is consistently well below 98.6, that's a low metabolism and suggests an underactive thyroid. My last temp, taken at 10:23A, was 97.7, but time will tell.
Also if you're chronically low in magnesium, that can be a sign of hypothyroid. Mine was just below the "normal" range.
And then there are my throat symptoms, all of which are consistent with Hashimotos (where your auto-immune system is attacking your thyroid and chronically irritating it). Or at very least, thyroid inflammation.
This doc wants me to start taking T3, but my research shows that you need to find out if your adrenals are okay before starting any kind of thyroid treatment. I might have what they call "adrenal exhaustion". That needs a 24-hour saliva test to find out, in which your cortisol levels are taken at different times of the day -- not the standard blood test, which measures both free cortisol and bound cortisol.
Then, to see if Hashimotos is the problem, there are *2* antibody tests to take - the TPO and Tgab (my doc originally only did the TPO, which showed I did have slightly elevated antibodies, btw). And to make sure, there's the Fine Needle Aspiration test, which looks for "Hurthle" cells in the thyroid -- these indicate Hashimotos.
Finally, it's been said that a lot of thyroid problems come from Iodine deficiency. There's a test for that called the Iodine/Iodide Load Test, in which you basically take a lot of iodine, and if your body keeps a lot and gets rid of very little, that's indicates a deficiency.
I can have any of these tests done directly, without requiring a doctor, but they cost quite a bit. So I'm just letting my doc know in no uncertain terms that I will have these tests done, one way or another.